Weeks after announcing that he is now a gospel rapper, after abandoning secular music, Gwamba has reappeared with a new song, ‘Better’. Yesterday I wrote an article asking if by going gospel Gwamba will either rise or fall. Then it was merely speculation, and hours after the article, Gwamba released his first gospel song featuring Emm Q and Tammy, titled ‘Better’, to give us a clue of how he will be sounding as a gospel rapper. Here are five things we can deduce from the song:

First: He still has it. In the previous article I described him as the “Phungu Joseph Nkasa of Malawi urban music” because of his rare ability of weaving lyrics to produce unthought-of meanings. His expressions remain the same in his favorite vernacular rapping style. There is still that confidence in his voice which has come out perfect with his rhyming skills. He exactly knows where he left it from and with his new song he has picked it from that same spot going towards a destiny only him and the universe knows better.

Second: A secular music hangover is not yet out of him. ‘Better’ has been released with a tag as a gospel song. But the message is not all that gospel as we are used to. The likes of Ethel Kamwendo-Banda, Grace Chinga or Thocco Katimba have made us to be used to a gospel message which emphasizes on a person getting triumphant through faith in Jesus Christ. Of course, in the song there is a mention of Jesus Christ, being there for someone, and that because of that, all will be well. But still, it has come out as secular; something like what any average rapper can come up with. Gwamba is yet to discover himself as a gospel rapper in his lyrics. He will need more Bible studying and mediation.

Third: He has been planning for his conversion from secular to gospel maybe weeks before his announcement. We are not sure of his song making abilities, in terms of how fast he can come up with a song. The song has come out good and in days’ time it will possibly threaten the existing music downloads records in Malawi. Partly, it will also because people will be excited about the new Gwamba and will want to listen to him. But in general, the song is good. It is not sounding as a composition and a work from the day he announced his conversion to its day of release. It was prepared long before this.

Fourth: He will shine with it during the shows. It can be speculated that he made the song with a music show in mind. He wants to be interacting with his audience especially through the anthemic sound of the chorus. If that was in his mind, then he got it right. This song is ideal for a music show. This will be the reason he will not lose his appeal in his fans. In other words, with it he has used a strategy which will see him easily moving his fans from the secular side he belonged to the Gospel side he now belongs.

Fifth: The song has proved that a rapper who is at the top of his secular game can convert to gospel rapping and still maintain his old self. Gwamba is a strange case on the Malawian music scene. Converting while at the top of his game; it has never happened before in Malawi, and more, from an urban music artist. He has shown the rest of his peers that it is possible to take that risky career step and still be as versatile as you have always been. Who knows, he has just led the way and more secular urban rappers will follow his way.

About the writer: Wonderful Mkhutche is an author, a political scientist and a manuscript developer and editor.